The Court of International Trade on Aug. 21 granted the government's motion to serve German paper exporter Koehler through its U.S. counsel in a suit looking to get Koehler to pay over $193 million in unpaid antidumping duties and interest. Judge Gary Katzmann said the court's Rule 4(e), which allows service on an individual in a foreign country "by other means not prohibited by international agreement," allows service through a foreign company's U.S.-located counsel. The judge added that international comity doesn't bar this type of service and that service through Koehler's U.S. counsel wouldn't strip the company of its due process rights.
Court of International Trade
The United States Court of International Trade is a federal court which has national jurisdiction over civil actions regarding the customs and international trade laws of the United States. The Court was established under Article III of the Constitution by the Customs Courts Act of 1980. The Court consists of nine judges appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is located in New York City. The Court has jurisdiction throughout the United States and has exclusive jurisdictional authority to decide civil action pertaining to international trade against the United States or entities representing the United States.
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 20 sent back the Commerce Department's decision in an antidumping duty review not to adjust exporter Trina Solar Co.'s U.S. price by six programs countervailed in the companion countervailing duty review. Judge Claire Kelly said Commerce failed to explain its finding that the six programs weren't export contingent.
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 16 reassigned an antidumping duty scope case on Chinese garlic from Judge Gary Katzmann to Judge M. Miller Baker. Importer Marcatus QED filed suit, claiming the Commerce Department erred in finding that the company's shipments of preserved garlic in brine fell within the scope of the AD order on fresh garlic from China (see 2406140039). Baker already has been assigned at least one other case related to the scope of antidumping duties on Chinese garlic (see 2408090042) (Marcatus QED v. U.S., CIT # 24-00091).
Antidumping duty petitioner Catfish Farmers of America on Aug. 15 opposed the Commerce Department's remand results in a suit on the 2017-18 administrative review of the AD order on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam. In comments submitted to the Court of International Trade, the petitioner contested Commerce's conclusion that India offered better quality surrogate value data than Indonesia for generally valuing the fish fillets' factors of production (Catfish Farmers of America v. U.S., CIT # 20-00105).
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 20 remanded the Commerce Department's 2021-22 review of the antidumping duty order on solar products from China. Judge Claire Kelly sent back Commerce's decision not to adjust exporter Trina Solar Co.'s U.S. price by the amount of six programs the agency countervailed in the most recent accompanying countervailing duty review. Kelly found that Commerce failed to explain its decision that the six programs weren't export contingent.
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 19 sustained the Commerce Department's decision not to amend the antidumping duty order on softwood lumber from Canada to revoke the order as to exporter Resolute FP Canada in the sunset review of the order.
After three remands by Court of International Trade Judge Mark Barnett, the Commerce Department on Aug. 15 yet again found that a petitioner’s evidence wasn’t enough for the department to investigate an allegation that the Korean government was providing subsidized electricity to South Korean steel exporters during off-peak hours (Nucor v. U.S., CIT # 21-00182).
The U.S. acknowledged on Aug. 16 that CBP mistakenly liquidated certain tire entries subject to an injunction from the Court of International Trade. Filing a status report, the government said the Commerce Department "took corrective action," telling CBP to "promptly return to unliquidated status any entries that had been inadvertently liquidated in violation of the Court’s order" (Titan Tire Corp. v. United States, CIT # 23-00233).
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 19 sustained the Commerce Department's first sunset review of the antidumping duty order on softwood lumber from Canada. Judge Jane Restani said jurisprudence from the trade court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Commerce's use of the Cohen's d test doesn't compel the revocation of the AD order for exporter Resolute FP Canada. The judge held that since neither court has rejected the standard use of the test, Commerce wasn't required to revert Resolute's dumping margin to zero in the underlying investigation.
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 16 said it's unreasonable for the Commerce Department not to attempt verification of an exporter's certificates proclaiming nonuse of China's Export Buyer's Credit Program, despite the exporter not having submitted such certificates for all its customers.